Tube catcher sub



H. PENNINGTON TUBE 4CATCHERSUB Filed Jan. l2, i193? HARRY PENNINGTON. ma @Xin www:

Jan. 24, 1939.

Patented Jen. `24., 1939 d 2,145,192, TUBE encima' sun The invention relates to a means and apparatus for use with the rotary well drilling equipment. particularly wheressome tool 'or apparatus isrbeing retrieved -fromthewell bore by theforce of vhydrauliciluid. 1 A l In the drilling of4 wellsby the rotarymethodit vis often desirable tolower vthe tool or piece of equipment into thewell bore either by gravity or by circulation of uidand -to thereafter retrieve this piece of equipment or apparatus also by the 4force o f hydraulic uid and under thesecircumstances it is not uncommon for Athe tool or piece of equipment to move .along the well bore at a considerable rate ofr speedso that when it arrives at the surface itis desirable to release the uid pressure beneath the tool as quickly-as possible in order to stop the tool and to prevent its being forced upwardly: from.the well bore into the derrick. f 20- It is also ldesirable to prevent thedischarge of `the iiuid or'liquid which serves tovraise the tool in-the well bore so that it will not be ,wasted or be..

ldischarged about'thederrick-fioor.

The invention particularlygrelates to the red trieving of` a core barrel such as described in my copending applicationtforpatent,Serial No. 378,- 613, (1,925 series) vfiled .July` 16, 1929, -or`my retrieving sand testerdesfcribed in mycopendlng application, Serial, No. A57,329, led'January 3,

f 30. 1936, nowPatent No. :2,094,022ygranted September as, 1937. l Y 4 It is 'one ofthev objects of the invention to .provide a' device for'releasing the, fluid pressure beneath a tool ybeingraised ina well' borefby hydraulic pressure.

V' night of e tube 4within e. drm pipe at 'e' exea position such that the upper' end of thetube will prod ject above the upper end of the drill pipe.

Another object of the`invention .is to automatically seize the tool as it'appearsat themouth of 'the welly bore due to force of'hydraulic fluid so thatthe force 'of iluid may bereleased and the tool retained at the surface.

Another object of theinventionis to vent out of the well bore the slush which isused during the circulation in moving a tubeV in a well bore.J

Another object of the invention is to provide a means of confining the slush dischargedfro'm 50 a well bore to an areabeneath the derrick iioor. Another object of the invention is to provide a sub for: the drill pipe which will vent the flushing fluid therefrom. a

Anothenobject of the invention isfto provide a K well head -connection so that drilling fluid may Another object ef the invention is te afrestthe l equipped with a casing ordrilling head 4 which 'has tlrrey usualv .pipe connection 5thereon so that the drilling fluid may discharge from the casing It is well understood that the string cfu/drill .STATES 'PATENT 'Vf Harry Pennington, San Antonio,- Ten.

' applicati@ January 12, 1937. seriei Ne. 120,151

110mm. (o1. 2551-72) be vented from the drill h isbeing rotated in Vevent a piece of equipment is being moved into the drill pipe by hydraulic pressure.

pipe lwhile the drin pipe Another object' of the invention is to seal the upward direction.

Another object of the vinvention is tolprovidea 'piece of well head equipment whereby the drill stem may be rotated while a tube is being retrieved Vin vupward flight through the drill pipe.

Other and further objects ofthe invention will be readily apparent when the following description is considered in connection'with the accomlpanyllg drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a central vertical section through the upper end of a well head'which has been equipped with the inventioninillustrating the assembly and arrangement of the parts. v

`Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and looking downwardly.

In Fig. 1 the well bore is indicated :generally n' at 2 and as is usual it is providedfwith a surface lcasing 'such as 3 which extends-intol the earth Vformation Va sufficient distanceso that it may be suitably anchored in order to support the casing q ment this pipe 3 into position and it maybe of any desired lengthfdepending upon the contemplated pressures tobeencOuntered.- --H In the-present instance this casing 3.has beenl into the slush pit during the normal fdrillingm operation. Y y

The 'equipment shown is *merelyl diagrammatic Ato illustrate one formof the casing head. ,The

drill pipe by which the drill bitis Lrotated' and the drilling operation is performed is Vindicatedat E and is made up of sections of pipe coupled end to end. During the normalv drilling operation the Kelly joint or .grief stem isconnected to the upper end of the drill pipe at 1 and extends upwardly through the rotary table i0. A'drive bushing II and a usual driving connectionfare `carried by the rotary so -as to impart rotation tov thedrill stem. 'I'he rotary table ismountedon the derrick headand' other equipment in eventeof pressure" in the lwell bore. It is the usual practice to cedrilling fluid in the well.

pipe 6 is supported by a swivel in the derrick in a manner so that it may be rotated during the drilling operation. A rotary hose is usually extended from the mud pump so as to draw mud from the slush pit and force it through the swivel and down through the Kelly joint and the drill pipe 6 in the usual form of circulating slush or 'I'his mud passes through the lower end of the drill bit and up the well bore 2 through the casing 3 and out the discharge or return outlet 5. All of the equipment so far described is that usually employed in the normal drilling operation.

The present invention directs itself to a means and a method of inserting and retrieving tubes or tools from the well bore while the drill stem 6 is in position in the well bore, and with this in mind the Kelly joint has been disconnected at the point 'I from the tool joint I4 and the tube catcher sub I5 has been attached thereto by means of the tool joint pin member III which has been screwed into the tool joint box member |4.

This sub is of special construction so that it may be extended upwardly through the rotary table and will pass through the sealing head I8, which is positioned on the casing'head 4.

The particular feature of the sub I5 is to vent the drilling iiuid or slush from the upper end of the drill pipe when the circulation is reversed in order to retrieve the tool or tube which is indicated generally at 20. This tube is the piece of equipment which has been lowered into the well bore and is being retrieved. It may be a core barrel, sand tester or any other piece of .l equipment.

It seems obvious that when the circulation of uid is reversed by passing it from the pumps into the pipe 5 and downwardly through the casing 3 and the well bore 2 that there will be a pressure exerted on the lower end of the drill pipe` 6 so as to cause a circulation upwardly through this pipe. 'I'his circulation will be exerted on the lower end 2| of the tube 20 so as to cause the tube to move upwardly through the drill pipe.

As this tube arrives at the surface it may be traveling'at a considerable rate of speed, depending upon the pressure of the pump and the volume of circulation. It is desirable, of course, to merely have the head 22 of this tube project above the rotary table I0 so that it may be seized by a suitable catcher or overshot 23. At this time it is desirable to release the pressure fluid from beneath the-end of the tube 20 and with this in mind a plurality of openings 25 have been provided in the lperiphery of the pipe which makes up the sub I5. These openings are suicient in number and size so as to vent the volume of fluid A which will be moving up through the drill pipe. A suitable skirt 26 is also carried by the pipe I5 and overhangs these openings 25 so that there will not be any unnecessary spraying or splashing of the mud as it discharges.

A basin 3l) has been shown as attached to the casing head 4 and having an outlet 3| so that the mud can drain down and out this outlet 3| back into the slush pit so that it will not be wasted.

When the fluid pressure is released through these openings 25 of course there will be no force exerted on the tube 26 and it will come to rest in a more or less floating position on the fluid which is moving upwardly through the drillI stem. It is preferable, however, to seize the tube v.automatically with the catcher 23 and for this reason a plurality of jaws 33 have been positioned in the taper 34 of the catcher so that they will grasp the stem 35 on the upper end of tube 20. A spring 36 may normally press the plate 31 downwardly so that shock of the stem 35 movbe a weight portion 32 known as a sinker bary whose weight will serve to absorb the inertia of the moving tube. If desired, the catcher 23 may be positioned upon the upper end 39 of the sub I5 before the tube arrives to the upper end of the well bore so that the tube will move into the catcher and will be automatically retained thereby.

In many instances it is desirable to rotate the drill pipe 6 while the retrieving operation is being carried out and it is also necessary to form a seal withthe casing head 4 when pressure is applied to reverse the circulation in order to retrieve the piece of equipment. To accomplish this the ysealing and rotating head |8 has been provided and it is in the form of a body 40 which carries a stufling box or packing gland 4| which is held in position by a cap 42. In this manner a seal isv formed with the periphery or sub |5 so that there will be no leakage of fluid thereby. When the drill stem is rotated in this manner its weight will be supported by a set of slips carried by the rotary table, but in some instances the pressure of the circulating fluid due to reversing of circulation may be such that the pressure will tend to lift the drill pipe and in this event it is i necessary to have a hold-down so that any desired pressure can be applied. If the drill stem is to be rotated a rotating hold-down is therefore necessary and to this end the bearing. has been positioned between the upper race 5| and the lower race 52 so that the body 40 may rotate relative to the bonnet 53 which is held on the casing head 4 by a series of bolts 54. The bonnet 53 forms a seal with the casing head s o that when there is an upward pressure on the drill stem the sub |5 mayV move upwardly a maxi-- mum distance such that the tool joint |6 will engage against the cap 42 and then any futher thrust would be taken by the body 40 and the bearing 50.r On the other hand, if the drill stem moves downwardly a flange 56 thereon will engage the upper end of the bonnet 53 and limits the downward movement of the drill stem relative to the well head.

Naturally the restrictions such as 66 in the drill pipe and the tool joint restrict the' circulation of fluids or the slippage thereof'past the tube 26 during its movement and as soon as the lower end,2| of the tube moves above the last restriction 6I then thereis a release of the fluid upwardly through the area 62 and outwardly through the openings 25. It is more or less difcult to cut of! the operation of slush pumps at the exact instant when the head 22 of the tube appears at the surface, but of course the pumps may be slowed down so as to reduce the rate of travel of the tube as it nears the surface so that the rate of circulation will be such that the tube 20 will merely oat on the-upwardly moving liquid as it discharges from the openings 25. In this 0H completely or if the overshot 23 should fail to seize the tube. Broadly, the invention contemplates a means and a method by which a tube may be recovered at the surface without inconvenience and waste of the circulating iluid.

What is claimed is:

In an apparatus for retrieving core tubes from wells by circulation of liquidV upwardly through l0 the drill pipe when the casing is closed and liquid pressure applied, a, sub connected to the upper end of` the drill pipe, discharge ports in the sub below the top thereof, the top of said sub elevating liquid from the top of said sub.

` HARRY 'PENNINGTOIL 

